In his first blog of 2026, Bishop David Bard invites us to think deeply about how we might sing the songs of God’s love in fresh ways as we embrace new ministry opportunities and challenges…
Many of you may be familiar with Howard Thurman’s beautiful, thought-provoking Christmas meditation. It begins, “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone.” It goes on to speak of the return of kings, princes, and shepherds to their homes and tasks. Thurman then says, “The work of Christmas begins,” and includes finding the lost, healing the broken, feeding the hungry, bringing peace, and making “music in the heart.” Thurman’s brief meditation is a powerful reminder that the Jesus whose birth we celebrate so joyously at Christmas is the same Jesus who calls us to live more lovingly day in and day out.
While I first encountered Thurman’s work years ago, I rediscovered him serendipitously during the COVID-19 pandemic. I don’t recall the exact moment or the precise words, but I stumbled across something he had written that found its way deep into my heart, mind, and soul and sent me back to his work. In my renewed engagement with Thurman, I was particularly taken by one of his brief meditations that encourages our attention to beauty and wonder, ending with these words: “Despite all the crassness of life, despite all the hardness of life, despite all the harsh discords of life, life is saved by the singing angels.” When one considers that Thurman was a Black man born in the American South at the dawn of the twentieth century, and that his father died when he was seven, those words become even more profound.
I have continued my engagement with Howard Thurman’s work. This Advent, I watched “Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story,” a documentary by Martin Doblmeier, again. Doblmeier has produced a series of wonderful films about important twentieth-century religious figures, including Reinhold Niebuhr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Dorothy Day, as well as a thoughtful film on sabbath.
I also found a meditation of Thurman’s on which I keep ruminating, “I Will Sing a New Song.” Here are some key portions:
The old song of my spirit has wearied itself out.
It has long ago been learned by heart . . .
Bringing no added joy to my days or lift to my spirit.I will sing a new song.
I must learn the new song for the new needs.
I must fashion new words born of all the new growth
of my life — of my mind — of my spirit. . . .Therefore, I shall rejoice with each new day
And delight my spirit in each fresh unfolding.
I will sing, this day, a new song unto the Lord.
The turning of the calendar to a new year affords us an opportunity to think deeply about how we might sing the songs of God’s love in Jesus Christ in fresh ways in our lives and in our ministries as individuals and congregations. It also provides an opportunity to discern which practices in our lives and which forms of ministry in our congregations are no longer serving their purpose of sharing God’s love in Christ or helping us grow in that love.
And discernment is the appropriate word here. When considering our own prayers and devotional lives, when is it time to add something new or let go of something old, and when is it appropriate to continue a practice that still has gifts to yield, knowing that we can give up too quickly and easily on a practice whose benefits are cumulative? One might tire of a repetitive prayer practice before it becomes sufficiently habitual. There are also times when a previously meaningful way of praying simply wears our spirit.
Meaningful ministries that reach out with God’s love can, over time, grow stale or become ineffective. When is it appropriate to seek ways to refresh such ministries, and when might it be best to recognize that something has served its purpose and that the time has come to let it go?
There are also circumstances in our lives that require us to make changes. Within The United Methodist Church and its conferences, we need to adjust to new realities regarding resources. We continue to want to sing the song of the Lord, and we need to find creative new ways to do so. New technologies also require us to think differently about how we communicate the good news of God’s love with the world.
Seeking justice, peace, and reconciliation in a world that continues to change in so many ways requires new thinking and strategies. In a time of profound polarization, how do we initiate faith-grounded conversations about significant issues?
Remarkably, even as we need to discern new ways to sing the song of the Lord, we can find resources by digging more deeply into our rich history. Howard Thurman wrote about the power of the spirituals sung by enslaved persons. I am convinced there are resources for our future in our Wesleyan tradition. Wesley himself, in encouraging his renewal movement, called for a reengagement with earlier Christian thinkers. I look forward to exploring our Wesleyan heritage and beliefs with you this year. I hope many of you will join other Michigan United Methodists in reading Laceye Warner’s book “Knowing Who We Are: The Wesleyan Way of Grace” before our 2026 Michigan Annual Conference. Learn more.
As this new year begins, I invite us to sing new songs. I invite us to learn new songs for new needs. I invite each of us to fashion new words born of new growth in our lives, minds, and spirits. Rejoice with each new day and delight in each fresh unfolding of grace.
Last Updated on January 7, 2026